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Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women

At the outset, I would like to congratulate you on your election as President of the Executive Board of UN Women. We are confident that, with your abilities, you will successfully conduct the work of the board and we wish you and the member of the Bureau every success.

I would also like to thank Her Excellency Ms. Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, Deputy Secretary-General and Executive Director of UN Women, for her important statement and her efficient leadership of UN Women, which has made significant progress in the areas of gender equality and women empowerment in many countries in the world. We also thank all the participants for preparing and presenting their comprehensive reports on the evaluation function undertaken by the entity and on its financial position for the past and the upcoming years.

Mr. President,

UN Women has proven its importance and effectiveness in implementing the international agenda towards promoting gender equality and women empowerment, which was demonstrated through the continuous progress made in areas of women’s economic empowerment and political participation, an increasing percentage of girls in schools, engagement of women in peace and security efforts and humanitarian activities and combating all forms of violence against women, as well as the expansion of countries and regions benefiting from the entity’s programmes.

In this regard, we would like to congratulate UN Women on the findings of the report of the Global Evaluation Advisory Committee, which recognizes the integrity and credibility of the evaluation function of the entity, and its transformative and influential role in achieving gender equality and women’s empowerment globally. These conclusions reaffirm the success of UN Women in implementing its mandate on the international and national levels and in generating a positive change. We would also like to extend our thanks and appreciation to the Committee for its inclusive report and valuable recommendations. We also welcome the actions proposed by the management to act on these recommendations, and its emphasis of the importance the evaluation function that is evidence – based as an indicator of results achieved and to benefit from these results, and to contribute to decision making towards the necessary progress in the plan of action.

Mr. President,

There is an international consensus that women issues should have a greater space and dedication in the post-2015 development agenda. This means doubling the obligations of UN Women, as well as required financial resources. We all agree that in order for UN Women to implement its mandate successfully and effectively, and to realize the vision we all seek, it is important to ensure the necessary and adequate resources in a sustained and predictable manner. Despite the increase in resources from the countries’ contributions to UN Women, compared to previous years, the entity, as mentioned in the financial report, continues to suffer from a budget deficit, and is in need of more resources to play its role and implement its strategy for 2014-2017. In this regard, we welcome the proposals submitted by the entity to expand the base of the core and non-core resources, and look forward to starting the structured dialogue on financing the entity’s strategy for 2014-2017.

The UAE believes in the importance of the global leading role UN Women plays to advance and empower women in all areas. We see that it is necessary to provide the needed support to the entity and its country offices. The UAE will continue its support to UN Women after the opening of the liaison office, which is hosted by the UAE, this year. The UAE has been committed to supporting this entity to fulfill its mission since its inception. To reaffirm this commitment, we decided to increase our contribution to the core budget of UN Women in 2014 and 2015. In addition, we are working in partnership with the entity on the Global Study on the implementation of Security Council resolution 1325, to be included in the report of the Secretary-General on this topic. The UAE Permanent Mission to the United Nations is hosting a series of discussions on Women, Peace and Security. In this context, we would like to invite all of you to attend the fourth panel discussion on Transitional Justice to be held on 24 February in the United Nations Headquarters. We look forward to your participation in the upcoming panel.